The Beach Boys

Released: March 19, 1979

Songwriter: Traditional

Producer: The Beach Boys James William Guercio Bruce Johnston

[Chorus] [2x]
Mama's little baby loves shortening shortening
Mama's little baby loves shortening bread

[Verse 1]
Put on the skillet
Slip on the lid
Mammy's going to make us some shortening bread
And that ain't all
Our mammy's going to do
She's going to cook us some coffee, too

[Chorus] [3x]

[Verse 2]
I slipped in the kitchen
Raised up the lid
I stole me a mess of that shortening bread
I walked up to a pretty girl and I said
Baby how'd you like some shortening bread

[Chorus] [2x]

[Verse 3]
They caught me with the skillet
They caught me with the lid
They caught me with the girl eating shortening bread
Six months for the skillet
Six months for the lid
Now I'm doing time for eating shortening bread

[Chorus] [2x]

Shortening
Shortening bread
Shortening
Shortening bread

[Chorus] [2x]

The Beach Boys are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time and the first American pop band to reach the 50-year milestone. Their vocal harmonies are among the most unmistakable and enduring of the rock and roll era.

Formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California, by Brian Wilson, his two brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and classmate Al Jardine, the group’s first single “Surfin'” got them signed to Capitol Records and they quickly became one of the most popular and successful artists of the surf music craze of the 1960s. From 1962 to 1966, The Beach Boys scored over twenty top 40 hits in the US including the chart-toppers “I Get Around”, “Help Me Rhonda” & “Good Vibrations” along with the top 5’s “Surfin USA”, “Fun, Fun, Fun”, “California Girls”, “Barbara Ann” & “Sloop John B”. Several of the band’s singles also found top 40 success in Canada, Australia, Sweden and the UK. In 1965, de facto leader Brian Wilson suffered a mental breakdown due to the stress of writing, producing & touring combined with substance abuse issues, causing him to step down and stop traveling with the band on tour.

Inspired by producer Phil Spector and The Beatles' Rubber Soul, Brian focused on studio work, determined to keep the group relevant as the surf music scene was fading with their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Despite tension between members in the studio about this new direction, lack of faith from the record label, mixed reviews, and comparatively lukewarm reception initially in the US, the album still found massive success in the UK and earned accolades from fellow artists including The Beatles, who acknowledged that the album was their inspiration to further push the boundaries of pop music with their landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Eventually Pet Sounds would be acknowledged as one of the greatest albums ever recorded by several media outlets like The Times, Mojo Magazine, The Guardian, VH1, BBC and Rolling Stone.

more tracks from the album

Adult/Child

From the albums

Adult/Child (1978)
L.A. (Light Album) (1979)

The Beach Boys popular songs

Shortenin’ BreadThe Beach Boys

The Beach Boys

Adult/Child